Sign up to receive free email alerts when patent applications with chosen keywords are publishedSIGN UP

Abstract:

A timepiece includes a movement contained in a timepiece exterior
assembly. A panel is fixed onto the movement. Upward engagement convex
portions having pressing portions in upper portions thereof are formed in
a plurality of locations of the ring member, and a ring member is fixed
to the peripheral portion of the movement. A display plate has a
plurality of reception portions in a peripheral portion thereof with
which the pressing portion comes into contact from above. The reception
portions are vertically interposed by an upper surface of the ring member
and the pressing portions, the display plate is attached to the ring
member, and the panel is covered with the display plate.

Claims:

1. A timepiece comprising: a timepiece exterior assembly; a module that
is built in the timepiece exterior assembly; a panel that is fixed onto
the module; a ring member of a ring shape when viewed from a plane that
is fixed to a peripheral portion of the module, upward engagement convex
portions being formed in a plurality of locations of the member, and the
engagement convex portions having pressing portions; and a display plate
that is disposed to cover the panel and has a plurality of reception
portions in a peripheral portion of the display plate with which the
pressing portion comes into contact from above, the reception portions
being vertically interposed by an upper surface of the ring member and
the pressing portions and being attached to the ring member.

2. The timepiece according to claim 1, wherein pressing portion
accommodation grooves opened to the peripheral surface of the display
plate are formed in a plurality of locations of the peripheral portion of
the display plate, the reception portions are provided so as to partition
a part of the pressing portion accommodation grooves, and the pressing
portions are housed in the pressing portion accommodation grooves.

3. The timepiece according to claim 2, wherein the reception portions
have reception slope surfaces that partition a part of the pressing
portion accommodation grooves, the reception slope surfaces face a width
direction of the pressing portion accommodation grooves and are widely
formed as the pressing portion accommodation grooves face upward, and the
pressing portions have pressing slope surfaces coming into contact with
the reception slope surfaces from above, respectively, and are widely
formed as the pressing portions face upward.

4. The timepiece according to claim 2, further comprising: mutually
opposite groove side surfaces of the pressing portion accommodation
grooves, wherein the reception portions have reception slope surfaces
that partition a part of the pressing portion accommodation grooves, the
reception slope surfaces are formed on bottom surfaces of the pressing
portion accommodation grooves tilted down as the reception slope surfaces
face open ends of the pressing portion accommodation grooves, the
pressing portions have slope sides surface tilted so as to approach each
other as going to tip sides thereof and are formed in a tapered shape,
the tip portions of the pressing portions come into contact with the
reception slope surfaces from above, and the slope side surfaces come
into contact with corners formed by the groove side surfaces and the
peripheral surface of the display plate, respectively.

5. The timepiece according to claim 1, wherein the engagement convex
portion is able to be elastically deformed in a radial direction of the
ring member and the display plate based on a root thereof.

6. The timepiece according to claim 5, wherein a contact projection
coming into contact with an inner peripheral surface of a body included
in the timepiece exterior assembly is integrally provided in an upper
portion of the engagement convex portion.

7. The timepiece according to claim 2, further comprising: an annular
clearance which comes into contact with an upper surface of the
peripheral portion of the display plate and covers the peripheral
portion, and a height of the upper end of the pressing portion is equal
to or less than the upper surface of the display plate.

8. The timepiece according to claim 1, wherein the panel is a solar
battery panel that generates electricity by a photoelectric conversion.

9. The timepiece according to claim 1, wherein the panel is a light
emitting panel that emits light in an electrically conducted state.

Description:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a timepiece such as a wristwatch
in which a panel for electricity generation or light emission is provided
in a module displaying a time or the like and the panel is covered with a
display plate. Particularly, the present invention relates to a timepiece
in which an attachment configuration of the display plate is improved.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] A timepiece is known as a related art in which a panel including a
solar cell or an electroluminescence and a light-transmissive display
plate covering the same are disposed on the module (for example, see
Japanese Patent No. 4398555 (Patent Document 1)).

[0005] In the related art, an auxiliary ring formed of a resin molding
product has a pair of cylindrical projection portions in a plurality of
locations on an upper surface of an outer peripheral portion thereof,
respectively, and has a projection on a lower surface thereof. The
projections of the auxiliary ring are engaged with the module, and the
auxiliary ring is fixed to the module. With this, the display plate is
formed in a thin plate shape by a synthetic resin such as a transparent
acrylic resin or a polycarbonate resin, and has a plurality of notches in
a peripheral portion thereof. By engaging the notches with the
cylindrical projection portions of the module, the display plate is fixed
to the auxiliary ring.

[0006] Specifically, the pair of cylindrical projection portions has a gap
therebetween and is formed so as to be elastically deformable toward the
gap. The notches of the display plate elastically deform a pair of
cylindrical projection portions placed inside thereof in a direction
approaching each other and are engaged with them. As a result, it is
possible to fix the display plate in the state in which a lateral
deviation or rotation is prevented.

[0007] In a timepiece according to the related art, a diameter of the
cylindrical projection portion is not changed from a root thereof to a
tip thereof, and the holding of the display plate to the auxiliary ring
only depends on an engagement force that acts from the cylindrical
projection portion to an edge of the notch in a horizontal direction (a
lateral direction).

[0008] By such engagement force, warping based on the plurality of notches
is easily generated in the display plate having relatively low strength,
whereby a distortion is generated in the display plate. Since an
occurrence of the distortion degrades the quality of the timepiece, an
improvement thereof is desired.

[0009] Furthermore, an assembly including an auxiliary ring and a display
plate attached thereto as mentioned above is moved toward the
incorporation until being incorporated to a timepiece exterior assembly
after integration of the assembly, and thus, the assembly receives the
vibration or the like at that time. For that reason, in the configuration
of the related art mentioned above in which the display plate is held
only by the horizontal engagement force with the cylindrical projection
portion, the display plate is moved upward and floats owing to the
vibration or the like, such a situation further progresses and the
display plate may deviate.

[0010] As mentioned above, in the timepiece of the related art, there is a
problem in that the display plate is liable to be attached in a distorted
manner, and, until the auxiliary ring and the display plate attached
thereto are incorporated to the timepiece exterior assembly, the display
plate floats or deviates with respect to the ring member.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] In order to solve the problem, according to the present invention,
there is provided a timepiece which includes a timepiece exterior
assembly; a module that is built in the timepiece exterior assembly; a
panel that is fixed onto the module; a ring member of a ring shape when
viewed from a plane that is fixed to a peripheral portion of the module,
upward engagement convex portions being formed in a plurality of
locations of the member, and the engagement convex portions having
pressing portions; and a display plate that is disposed to cover the
panel and has a plurality of reception portions in a peripheral portion
of the display plate with which the pressing portion comes into contact
from above, the reception portions being vertically interposed by an
upper surface of the ring member and the pressing portions and being
attached to the ring member.

[0012] In the present invention, when the module is implemented as an
analog type timepiece, the module indicates a movement which drives a
plurality of time display needles, and when being implemented as a
digital type timepiece, the module indicates an electronic circuit which
drives a display showing the time or the like. In the present embodiment,
the panel indicates a solar battery panel, a light emitting panel or the
like.

[0013] In the present invention, when being implemented as an analog type
timepiece, the display plate indicates a light transmissive hour plate,
and when being implanted as a digital type timepiece, the display plate
has a window facing a desired part of a display indicating the time or
the like, and a part other than the window indicates a cover plate (in
addition, the plate is known as a clearance plate) that covers the
display.

[0014] In the present invention, it is desirable that the pressing
portions of the engagement convex portions come into contact with the
reception portions, which partition a part of a pressing portion
accommodation groove formed in the display plate described later, from
above. However, apart from this, it is also possible to use a part of the
peripheral portion upper surface of the display plate as the reception
portion and bring the pressing portion into contact with the reception
portion from above.

[0015] In the present invention, as described below, it is desirable that
the display plate be attached so as not to be moved in an upward
direction and a circumferential direction thereof only by the contact
between the pressing portion and the reception portion. However, the
contact between the pressing portion and the reception portion takes
charge of floating stop means for holding the display plate so as not to
be moved upward, and apart from this, a rotation stop means for holding
the display plate so as not to be moved in the circumferential direction
may be provided.

[0016] Thus, for example, it is also possible to provide the rotation stop
means for bringing a side surface of the elastically deformed engagement
convex portion into contact with an edge of the pressing portion
accommodation groove formed in the peripheral portion of the display
plate and holding the display plate so as not to be moved in the
circumferential direction, and provide the floating stop means for
pressing the reception portion having a slope surface from above, a step
or the like forming a part of a display plate upper surface around the
pressing portion accommodation groove or the pressing portion
accommodation groove by the pressing portion formed in an upper portion
of the engagement convex portion and holding the display plate so as not
to be moved upward. Furthermore, it is also possible to provide and
perform the floating stop means for bringing the pressing portion of the
engagement convex portion into contact with the reception portion
provided in a peripheral portion position separated from the rotation
stop means in the circumferential direction of the display plate from
above, and holding the display plate so as not to be moved upward.

[0017] In the present invention, the engagement convex portion of the ring
member has the pressing portion, the pressing portion comes into contact
with the reception portion of the display plate from above, and the
display plate is vertically interposed by the ring member and the
engagement convex portion. For this reason, it is possible to suppress
that the display plate is moved to the upper side with respect to the
ring member, and floats or deviates owing to the vibration or the like to
be applied until the ring member with the display plate attached thereto
is inserted into the timepiece exterior assembly, by the pressing portion
of the engagement convex portion with the peripheral portion of the
display plate vertically interposed between the pressing portion and the
upper surface of the ring member.

[0018] Furthermore, in the present invention, since the pressing portion
of the engagement convex portion comes into contact with the reception
portion of the display plate from above to perform the floating stop of
the display plate, it is difficult to generate an excessive stress around
the pressing portion accommodation groove of the display plate by the
engagement convex portion. Thus, it is possible to suppress the display
plate being attached to the ring member in an undulated and distorted
manner starting from the pressing portion accommodation groove.

[0019] In the preferred aspect of the present invention, pressing portion
accommodation grooves opened to the peripheral surface of the display
plate are formed in a plurality of locations of the peripheral portion of
the display plate, the reception portions are provided so as to partition
a part of the pressing portion accommodation grooves, and the pressing
portions are housed in the pressing portion accommodation grooves. In the
preferred aspect, the reception portion may be a step and may be a
reception portion that has an upper surface including a slope surface.

[0020] The invention of the preferred aspect further has an advantage that
it is possible to position the display plate in the circumferential
direction of the ring member by the pressing portion accommodation groove
of the display portion peripheral portion and the pressing portion of the
engagement convex portion housed therein.

[0021] In the preferred aspect of the present invention, the reception
portions have reception slope surfaces that partition a part of the
pressing portion accommodation groove, the reception slope surfaces face
a width direction of the pressing portion accommodation grooves and are
widely formed as the pressing portion accommodation grooves face upward,
and the pressing portions have pressing slope surfaces coming into
contact with the reception slope surfaces from above, respectively, and
are widely formed as the pressing portions face upward.

[0022] In the invention of the preferred aspect, in a state where the
pressing portion of the engagement convex portion having the pair of
pressing slope surfaces coming into contact with the reception slope
surfaces enters downward in a wedge shape between a pair of reception
portions having the reception slope surfaces facing the width direction
of the pressing portion accommodation groove, the pair of reception
portions is vertically interposed between the pressing portion of the
engagement convex portion and the upper surface of the ring member. For
this reason, it is possible to hold the display plate so as not to be
moved upward. In addition to this, the engagement convex portion can hold
the display plate so as not to be moved in the circumferential direction
by using the pressing portion as a stopper. Thus, the invention of the
preferred aspect has a further advantage that the engagement convex
portion and the reception portion can take charge of the floating stop
and the rotation stop of the display plate.

[0023] In the preferred aspect of the present invention, the timepiece
further includes mutually opposite groove side surfaces of the pressing
portion accommodation grooves, the reception portions have reception
slope surfaces that partition a part of the pressing portion
accommodation grooves, the reception slope surfaces are formed on bottom
surfaces of the pressing portion accommodation grooves tilted down as the
reception slope surfaces face open ends of the pressing portion
accommodation grooves, the pressing portions have slope sides surface
tilted so as to approach each other as going to tip sides thereof and are
formed in a tapered shape, the tip portions of the pressing portions come
into contact with the reception slope surfaces from above, and the slope
side surfaces come into contact with corners formed by the groove side
surfaces and the peripheral surface of the display plate, respectively.

[0024] In the preferred invention, the pressing portion of the engagement
convex portion housed in the pressing portion accommodation groove is
configured so that the tip portion thereof comes into contact with the
reception slope portion of the reception portion from above and the
display plate is vertically interposed between the pressing portion and
the upper surface of the ring member. As a result, it is possible to hold
the display plate so as not to be moved upward. In addition to this, the
slope side surfaces of both sides of the pressing portion formed in the
tapered shape in the width direction come into contact with the corners
formed by the groove side surface of the pressing portion accommodation
groove and peripheral surface of the display plate, respectively. As a
result, the engagement convex portion can hold display plate so as not to
be moved in the circumferential direction by using the pressing portion
as a stopper. Thus, in the invention of the preferred aspect, the
engagement convex portion and the reception portion can take charge of
the floating stop and the rotation stop of the display plate.

[0025] In the preferred aspect of the present invention, the engagement
convex portion can be elastically deformed in a radial direction of the
ring member and the display plate based on a root thereof as a fulcrum.

[0026] In the invention of the preferred aspect, upon attaching the
display plate to the ring member, the engagement convex portion can be
elastically deformed based on the root thereof as a fulcrum in a
direction in which the pressing portion deviates from the pressing
portion accommodation groove. As a result, there is a further advantage
that an attachment workability of the display plate can be further
improved.

[0027] In the preferred aspect of the present invention, a contact
projection coming into contact with an inner peripheral surface of a body
included in the timepiece exterior assembly is integrally provided in an
upper portion of the engagement convex portion.

[0028] In the invention of the preferred aspect, since the contact
projection of the display plate comes into contact with the inner
peripheral surface of the body in the state where the assembly having the
module, the display plate, the ring member or the like is incorporated
into the timepiece exterior assembly, the pressing portion of the
engagement convex portion is pressed toward the inner side of the
pressing portion accommodation groove. As a result, there is a further
advantage that the contact between the pressing portion and the reception
portion of the display plate is strengthened and it is possible to
improve the holding capacity of the assembly to the timepiece exterior
assembly.

[0029] In the preferred aspect of the present invention, an annular
clearance is further included which comes into contact with upper surface
of the peripheral portion of the display plate and covers the peripheral
portion, and the height of the upper end of the pressing portion is equal
to or less than the upper surface of the display plate. In the invention
of the preferred aspect, the clearance may be formed integrally with the
body included in the timepiece exterior assembly, or may be a component
that is separated from the body and is disposed adjacent to the inner
surface of the body.

[0030] In the invention of the preferred aspect, since the pressing
portion is accommodated in the pressing portion accommodation groove so
as not to be protruded from the upper surface of the display plate, a gap
caused by the pressing portion is not formed between the clearance and
the peripheral portion upper surface of the display plate, and there is a
further advantage that it is possible to bring the clearance into contact
with the peripheral portion upper surface of the display plate.

[0031] In the preferred aspect of the present invention, the panel is a
solar battery panel that generates electricity by a photoelectric
conversion.

[0032] The invention of the preferred aspect has a further advantage in
that the electric power to be supplied to the module or the like, for
example, driven by the electric power can be generated by the solar
battery panel that receives light transmitted through the display plate.

[0033] In a preferred aspect of the present invention, the panel is a
light emitting panel that emits light in an electrically conducted state.

[0034] The invention of the preferred aspect has a further advantage in
that the light emitting panel emits light by the electric conduction
thereto and a backlight illumination to the display plate is possible,
and thus, visibility of the display of the time or the like can be
further improved.

[0035] According to the timepiece of the present invention, it is possible
to expect an effect which can suppress the distorted attachment of the
display plate and can suppress that the display plate floats or deviates
to the ring member until the display plate attached to the ring member is
incorporated into the timepiece exterior assembly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0036] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view that shows a part of a wristwatch
according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

[0037] FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view that shows a relationship between a
solar battery panel disposed on a movement included in the wristwatch of
FIG. 1 and an hour plate;

[0038] FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view that shows a F3 portion in FIG. 2;

[0039] FIG. 4 is a side view of a F3 portion viewed from an arrow F4 line
direction in FIG. 2;

[0040]FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line F5-F5 in FIG. 4;

[0041] FIG. 6 is a plan view that shows each part of the ring member and
the hour plate included in the wristwatch of FIG. 1 in a separated state;

[0042] FIG. 7 is a schematic plan view that shows the hour plate included
in the wristwatch of FIG. 1;

[0043]FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view that shows a part of the
wristwatch according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

[0044] FIG. 9 is a schematic plan view that shows a relationship between a
solar battery panel and an hour plate disposed on a movement included in
the wristwatch of FIG. 8;

[0045] FIG. 10 is an enlarged plan view of a F10 portion in FIG. 9;

[0046] FIG. 11 is a side view of a F13 portion viewed from an arrow F11
line direction in FIG. 9;

[0047] FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along line F12-F12 in FIG.
11;

[0048] FIG. 13 is a plan view that shows each part of the ring member and
the hour plate included in the wristwatch of FIG. 8 in a separated state;
and

[0049] FIG. 14 is a schematic plan view that shows the hour plate included
in the wristwatch of FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0050] Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be
described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7 in detail.

[0051] Reference numeral 1 in FIG. 1 shows a timepiece, for example, a
portable timepiece, specifically, a wristwatch. The wristwatch 1 includes
a timepiece exterior assembly 2, a clearance 9, a module, for example, a
movement 11, a panel, for example, a solar battery panel 15, a ring
member 21, and a display plate, for example, an hour plate 31.

[0052] The timepiece exterior assembly 2 includes an exterior member 6
made of a metal or a synthetic resin having a body 4 and a back cover 5,
and a cover glass 7. The back cover 5 is screwed and connected to the
body 4. The cover glass 7 is mounted inside a glass support portion 4a
formed in the body 4 in a liquid-tight manner.

[0053] The clearance 9 is provided between the peripheral portion thereof
and a peripheral portion of the cover glass 7 so as to cover an upper
surface of the peripheral portion of the hour plate 31. The clearance 9
shown in FIG. 1 is integrally formed on an upper portion inner periphery
of the body 4, but may be a ring-shaped member that is formed separately
from the body 4. The clearance 9 has an inner peripheral slope surface 9a
formed so that an opening diameter thereof is short as much as the lower
side, and the inner peripheral slope surface 9a faces an inner peripheral
back surface of the glass cover 7.

[0054] The movement 11 is driven by the electric power generated by a
solar battery panel 15 described later, and includes a secondary battery
for accumulating the electric power, a capacitor or the like (not shown).
The movement 11 has a circular shape when viewed from a plane. The
movement 11 is incorporated into the timepiece exterior assembly 2
together with a ring member 21, an hour plate 31 or the like described
later.

[0055] The movement 11 has an engagement portion 12. The engagement
portion 12 is provided at an upper surface 11a side in a peripheral
portion of the movement 11, and, for example, is formed in an upper end
part of a ring-shaped convex portion continued in a circumferential
direction of the movement 11. As shown in FIG. 1, the engagement portion
12 is slightly retreated in the back side (the lower side) of the
movement 11 with respect to the upper surface 11a of the movement 11.

[0056] The solar battery panel 15 is a panel in which a solar cell (not
shown) as an electricity generation element generating electricity by the
photoelectric conversion is mounted on a substrate (not shown). The solar
cell may be a crystal system or an amorphous system. The solar battery
panel 15 has a diameter slightly smaller than that of the movement 11,
and is fixed to the upper surface 11a of the movement 11 by the use of a
bonding member 16. As the bonding member 16, it is possible to very
suitably use a double-sided adhesive tape in which both sides thereof
have adhesiveness.

[0057] The ring member 21 is formed of a synthetic resin, for example, an
integrated molded product of Duracon. The ring member 21 forms a ring
shape when viewed from a plane, an inner diameter thereof is slightly
greater than the diameter of the solar battery panel 15, and an outer
diameter thereof is greater than the diameter of the movement 11. The
ring member 21 has engagement grooves 22 that are opened to the inner
surface and the back surface (a lower surface) thereof. The engagement
grooves 22 are continuously formed in the circumferential direction ring
member 21 in a ring shape.

[0058] Furthermore, the ring member 21 has a shoulder portion 21b (see
FIG. 5) came down from the upper surface 21a. The shoulder 21b is
continuously formed in the circumferential direction in a ring shape. The
ring member 21 has hook portions 28 (only one is shown in FIG. 1) in a
plurality of locations of the back surface, and has hollows 23 in the
shoulder portion 21b and engagement convex portions 25 of the same number
as those in a plurality of locations.

[0059] As shown in FIG. 2, the hollows 23 are provided in two locations of
the outer peripheral portion of the ring member 21, for example, so as to
be separated by 180°. Furthermore, the hollows 23 may be provided
in three locations for each 120°, or may be provided in four
locations for each 90°. As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the respective
hollows 23 are opened from the upper surface of the shoulder portion 21b
to the upper surface 21a of the ring member 21 and the outer peripheral
surface of the ring member 21, respectively.

[0060] The engagement convex portion 25 is surrounded by the hollow 23 in
a baser portion 25a thereof and is protruded upward. For that reason,
most of the root portion 25a of the engagement convex portion 25 is
situated at the lower side from the upper surface of the shoulder portion
21b lower than the upper surface 21a of the ring member 21, and the root
portion 25a is lengthily formed depending on the depth of the hollow 23.
The engagement convex portion 25 can be elastically deformed in a radial
direction of the ring member 21 and the hour plate 33 based on the lower
end of the root portion 25a, that is, the root.

[0061] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4 or the like, the hollow 23 is also
opened to the outer peripheral surface of the ring member 21 at both
sides of the root portion 25a of the engagement convex portion 25. When
removing the hour plate 31 described later from the ring member 21, a
pair of opened hollow parts can be used as a part, into which a tool,
such as a pincer, to be inserted to the back side of the hour plate 31,
is inserted.

[0062] The engagement convex portion 25 has a pressing portion 25b. The
pressing portion 25b is integrally and continuously provided upside the
root portion 25a, and forms an upper portion of the engagement convex
portion 25. A height of the upper end surface of the pressing portion 25b
is higher than that of the upper surface 21a of the ring member 21.
Furthermore, a thickness of the pressing portion 25b along the radial
direction of the ring member 21 is formed to be thicker than those of
other portions of the engagement convex portion 25 except for the
pressing portion 25a (see FIG. 5). Furthermore, reference numeral 21c in
FIGS. 4 and 6 indicates a die cutting hole for molding the pressing
portion 25b integrally with the ring member 21.

[0063] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the pressing portion 25b has pressing
slope surfaces 26 at both sides in the width direction thereof. The
pressing slope surfaces 26 are tilted so as to be gradually widened as a
distance between them, that is, the width of the pressing portion 25b
faces upward.

[0064] As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, a contact projection 27 protruded from
the outer peripheral surface of the ring member 21 is integrally formed
in the upper portion of the engagement convex portion 25. The contact
projection 27 is, for example, formed by a bead that is vertically
extended, but may be formed by a simple projection or a bead that is
extended in the circumferential direction of the ring member 21.

[0065] As shown in FIG. 1, the ring member 21 is attached to the movement
11 so that a hook portion 28 is hooked to a lower surface 13 of the
annular convex portion of the movement 11, and the engagement groove 22
is engaged with the upper surface of the engagement portion 12. By the
attachment mentioned above, the hollow 23 and the engagement convex
portion 25 separated by 180° are located in a direction of 12
o'clock-6 o'clock as described in FIG. 2, and the upper surface 21a of
the ring member 21 except for the respective engagement convex portions
25 is situated so as to be slightly higher than the upper surface of the
solar battery panel 15 (see FIG. 1). In addition, the placement of the
pair of engagement convex portions 25 is not limited to the direction of
12 o'clock-6 o'clock like the hollow 23, but it is also possible to place
the pair of engagement convex portions 25 in a direction of 9 o'clock-3
o'clock or other directions.

[0066] The hour plate 31 is molded in a thin plate shape by a translucent
synthetic resin such as a transparent acrylic resin or a polycarbonate
resin and can be elastically deformed. The hour plate 31 has an
approximately circular shape and has a diameter that is slightly smaller
than an outer diameter of the ring member 21. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5,
the thickness of the hour plate 31 is thicker than a height size of the
pressing portion 25b along the vertical direction of the ring member 21.
In the hour plate 31, displays such as graduations, numbers, and patterns
not shown are provided.

[0067] As shown in FIGS. 6, 7 or the like, the hour plate 31 has a
plurality of pressing portion accommodation grooves 32 and receptions
portions 33 in the peripheral portion thereof. The respective pressing
portion accommodation grooves 32 are formed so as to notch the hour plate
31 from the peripheral surface and are opened to the peripheral surface
31a of the hour plate 31. The respective pressing portion accommodation
grooves 32 have the same number as that of the engagement convex portion
25, and are provided to comply with the placement of the engagement
convex portion 25. Thus, as shown in FIG. 7, two pressing portion
accommodation grooves 32 are provided so as to be separated by
180° in the circumferential direction of the hour plate 31.

[0068] The accommodation portion 33 of the hour plate 31 has a reception
slope surface 33a that partitions a part of the pressing portion
accommodation groove 32. As shown in FIG. 6, the pressing portion
accommodation groove 32 is formed so as to be gradually widened as the
reception slope surface 33a faces in the width direction thereof and
faces upward.

[0069] The hour plate 31 is attached to the ring member 21 so as to cover
the solar battery panel 15. The attachment can be performed by pressing
the hour plate 31 downward from the upper part of the ring member 21 in
the state of positioning the engagement convex portion 25 and the
pressing portion accommodation groove 32 of the hour plate 31 with
respect to the ring member 21 that is mounted on the movement 11, and
fitting the pressing portion accommodation groove 32 to the pressing
portion 25b of the engagement convex portion 25. Otherwise, the
attachment can be performed by tilting the hour plate 31, fitting one
pressing portion accommodation portion 32 of the hour plate 31 to the
pressing portion 25b of one engagement convex portion 25, then deflecting
the hour plate 31, tilting the hour plate 31 to the other engagement
convex portion 25, and fitting the other pressing portion accommodation
groove 32 of the hour plate 31 to the pressing portion 25b of the other
engagement convex portion 25.

[0070] When the hour plate 31 is attached to the ring member 21, the
engagement convex portion 25 can be elastically deformed based on the
root of the engagement convex portion 25 in a direction in which the
pressing portion 25b deviates from the pressing portion accommodation
groove 32. As a result, a work of placing the pressing portion
accommodation groove 32 in a position where the reception portion 33 is
pressed by the pressing portion 25b from above becomes easier, and it is
possible to further improve the attachment workability of the hour plate
31.

[0071] Furthermore, since the root portion 25a of the engagement convex
portion 25 is surrounded by the hollow 23, the engagement convex portion
25 is lengthily ensured, and the elastic deformation thereof is easier.
For this reason, it is possible to suppress the generation of a crack in
the root due to the elastic deformation of the engagement convex portion
25.

[0072] In the state in which the attachment of the hour plate 31 onto the
ring member 21 is completed, as shown in FIG. 5, most of the pressing
portion 25b is housed in the pressing portion accommodation groove 32. In
this manner, the pressing portions 25b of the engagement convex portion
25 are housed in the respective pressing portion accommodation grooves 32
formed in the peripheral portion of the hour plate 31, respectively,
whereby it is possible to position the hour plate 31 in the
circumferential direction of the ring member 21.

[0073] Along with this, as shown in FIG. 4, the lower surface of the
reception portion 33 of the hour plate 31 attached to the ring member 21
comes into contact with the upper surface 21a of the ring member 21, and
the reception slope surfaces 33a of the reception portion 33 come into
contact with the pressing slope surfaces 26 of the pressing portion 25b
from above, respectively.

[0074] That is, in the state in which the pressing portion 25b of the
engagement convex portion 25 having the pair of pressing slope surface 26
coming into contact with the reception slope surface 33a enters between
the pair of reception portions 33 having the reception slope surface 33a
facing the width direction of the pressing portion accommodation groove
32 in a wedge shape from above, the pair of reception portions 33 are
vertically interposed between the pressing portion 25b of the engagement
convex portion 25 and the upper surface 21a of the ring member 21. In
other words, in the state in which the pair of reception portions 33
formed in a tapered shape enter between the pressing portion 25b and the
upper surface 21a of the ring member 21 in a wedge shape from a
transverse direction so as to interpose the engagement convex portion 25
therebetween in the width direction thereof, the pair of reception
portions 33 are vertically interposed between the pressing portion 25b of
the engagement convex portion 25 and the upper surface 21a of the ring
member 21. Furthermore, the upper end of the pressing member 25b comes
down from the upper surface (the surface) of the hour plate 31.

[0075] As mentioned above, since the reception 25b is vertically
interposed between the pressing portion 25 entered between the pair of
reception portions 33 in the wedge shape and the upper surface 21a of the
ring member 21, the hour plate 31 can be held so as not to be vertically
moved. In addition to this, it is possible to hold the hour plate 31 so
as not to be moved in the circumferential direction by using the pressing
portion 25b of the engagement convex portion 25 as a stopper.

[0076] Moreover, since the engagement convex portion 25 and the reception
portion 33 take charge of the floating stop and the rotation stop of the
hour plate 31, the configuration is simple compared to a configuration in
which the portions are separately provided.

[0077] Furthermore, it is possible to suppress the hour plate 31 moving to
the upper side, floating or deviating with respect to the ring member 21,
caused by the vibration applied to the ring member 21 mounted with the
hour plate 31 until the ring member 21 is incorporated into the timepiece
exterior assembly 2, by the pressing portion 25a of the engagement convex
portion 25 with the peripheral portion of the hour plate 31 vertically
interposed between the pressing portion 25a and the upper surface 21a of
the ring member 21. In addition, even if the hour plate 31 attached to
the ring member 21 tries to be moved in a radial direction connecting the
pressing portion accommodation groove 32, the movement can be suppressed
by using the engagement convex portion 25 as a stopper.

[0078] As mentioned above, since the pressing portion 25b of the
engagement convex portion 25 is brought into contact with the reception
portion 33 of the hour plate 31 from above to perform the floating stop
of the hour plate 31 to the ring member 21, an excessive stress is hardly
generated around the pressing portion accommodation groove 32 by the
engagement convex portion 25. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress the
hour plate 31 being attached to the ring member 21 in the state of being
distorted so as to undulate starting from the pressing portion
accommodation groove 32. Thus, it is possible to avoid the disadvantage
when the hour plate 31 enters an undulated state. That is, the hour plate
31 can be attached so as to avoid a disadvantage that the reflection of
light differs from each other in each portion of the hour plate 31, the
undulated state of the hour plate 31 is easily visible, and an appearance
of the timepiece 1 is impaired.

[0079] Furthermore, the assembly including the movement 11, the solar
battery panel 15 bonded thereto, the ring member 21 attached to the
movement 11, the hour plate 31 attached to the ring member 21 or the like
is incorporated into the body 4 to which the back cover 5 is not attached
through an opening closed by the back cover 5. In this case, as shown in
FIG. 1, since the contact projection 27 protruded to the engagement
convex portion 25 comes into contact with the inner peripheral surface of
the body 4, the assembly is lightly pressed and is incorporated into the
body 4.

[0080] In the assembly mentioned above, since the upper end of the
pressing portion 26b of the engagement convex portion 25 is situated to
be lower than the upper surface so as not to be protruded from the
peripheral portion upper surface of the hour plate 31, the peripheral
portion upper surface of the hour plate 31 comes into contact with the
lower surface of the clearance 9 by using the clearance 9 as per degree,
whereby the integration of the assembly in the body 4 is completed. For
that reason, a gap cause by the pressing portion 25b is not formed
between the clearance 9 and the peripheral portion upper surface of the
hour plate 31 covered with the same from above. Thus, it is possible to
suppress degrading of the appearance of the wristwatch 1.

[0081] Furthermore, by the integration of the assembly, the contact
projection 27 protruded to the engagement convex portion 25 mentioned
above comes into close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the
body 4, and the pressing portion 25b of the engagement convex portion 25
is pushed toward the inner side of the pressing portion accommodation
groove 32. As a result, the contact between the deformable pressing
portion 25b and the reception portion 33 of the hour plate 31 is
strengthened, and it is possible to hold the assembly in the radial
direction of the timepiece exterior assembly 2 so as not to rattle.

[0082] The hour plate 31 attached in this manner faces the back surface of
the cover glass 7 as shown in FIG. 1. Since the hour plate 31 has
translucency, natural light or artificial light transmitted through the
cover glass 7 and the hour plate 31 is incident to the solar battery
panel 15, and along with this, the solar cell of the solar battery panel
15 is subjected to the photoelectric conversion to generate electricity.
Thus, the wristwatch 1 accumulates the electric power generated in this
manner in a secondary battery or a capacitor, and can drive the movement
11 by the electric power.

[0083] FIGS. 8 to 14 show a second embodiment of the present invention. A
wristwatch according to the second embodiment is the same as that of the
first embodiment except for a configuration described below. For that
reason, the same configurations as those of the first embodiment are
denoted by the same reference numerals as the first embodiment, and the
descriptions thereof will be omitted.

[0084] In the second embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 10, 11 and 13, the
pressing portion 25a of the engagement convex portion 25 has a slope side
surface 29 tilted so as to be close to the tip side each other, and is
formed in a tapered shape. That is, the suppression portion 25 has a
narrowed tip side width. Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the
engagement convex portion 25 has a groove portion 25c that is
continuously formed at the underside of the pressing portion 25b.

[0085] As shown in FIG. 9, the pressing portion accommodation grooves 32
provided at a plurality of locations of the hour plate 31, for example,
in a position separated by 180° in the circumferential direction
face each other as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, preferably, the pressing
portion accommodation grooves 32 are partitioned by the parallel groove
side surface 32a and the reception slope surface 33a forming the bottom
surface of the pressing portion accommodation groove 32, and are opened
over the upper surface and the peripheral surface of the hour plate 31.
The reception portion 33 has the reception slope surface 33a, and the
reception slope surface 33a comes down and is tilted as facing the
opening end of the pressing portion accommodation groove 32.

[0086] As shown in FIGS. 7 and 12, the tip portion of the pressing portion
25b housed in the pressing portion accommodation groove 32 comes into
contact with the bottom surface of the pressing portion accommodation
groove 32, that is, the reception slope surface 33a of the reception
portion 33 from above. As a result, since the reception portion 33 is
vertically interposed between the pressing portion 25b and the upper
surface 21a of the ring member 21, it is possible to hold the hour plate
31 so as not to be vertically moved. Along with this, a thin end portion
of the reception portion 33 pressed from above enters the groove portion
25c of the engagement convex portion 25, and is supported by the root
portion 25a of the engagement convex portion 25 from below.

[0087] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 10, the slope side surfaces 29 of the
pressing portion 25b comes into close contact with the corners 31b formed
by the groove side surface 32a and the peripheral surface of the hour
plate 31, respectively. As a result, it is possible to hold the hour
plate 31 so as not to be moved in the circumferential direction by using
the pressing portion 25b of the engagement convex portion 25 as a
stopper.

[0088] Thus, in the second embodiment, since the engagement convex portion
25 and the reception portion 33 can also take charge of the floating stop
and the rotation stop of the hour plate 31, the configuration is simple
compared to a configuration in which the portions are separately
provided.

[0089] Configurations and actions other than those described above are the
same as those of the first embodiment. For that reason, in the second
embodiment, by the same reason as described in the first embodiment in
advance, the same action as the first embodiment is obtained, and the
object of the present invention can be attained. That is, it is possible
to provide a wristwatch 1 which can suppress the distorted attachment of
the display plate 33 and can suppress that the hour plate 31 floats or
deviates to the ring member until the display plate 31 attached to the
ring member 21 is incorporated into the timepiece exterior assembly 2.

[0090] In addition, the present invention is not limited to the respective
embodiments mentioned above. For example, it is possible to use a light
emitting panel instead of the solar battery panel in the respective
embodiments mentioned above. In the light emitting panel, for example, a
panel constituted by an electroluminescence element can suitably be used,
and the light emitting panel emits light by the electric power that is
supplied from a secondary battery or the like equipped in a timepiece
exterior assembly. In this case, the light emitting panel emits light by
the electric conduction thereto, the backlight illumination to the
display plate is generated by the light emitting panel, and thus, the
visibility of the display of the time or the like can be further
improved. Furthermore, the present invention can also be applied to a
pocket watch or the like besides the wristwatch.